It's difficult to find Esther Shank sitting down.

But if you do, you'll likely find the Greensburg woman with a crochet hook in hand, making a doily.

Prior to the May 4, 2007, tornado, Shank's intricate handiwork could be found in many Greensburg houses. Now the Burdett native is on a mission to replace each of those gifts, just as soon as there is a home to put it in.

As Greensburg's rebuilding process continues, Shank is making doilies and giving them to residents when they move into their new homes.

She isn't necessarily making a doily for every resident, she says, but rather for anyone who lost one in the tornado and for those who tell her they'd like one.

Working woman

A woman in her 70s, Shank has always been a worker - from her childhood days helping her father on their Burdette farm - to the present, as she continues to help out around Dwane Shank Motors, which she and her husband have owned for nearly 40 years. Their son now runs the car dealership, but Shank can be found behind the scenes.

Prior to the tornado, the dealership was on Main Street. Esther and Dwane Shank rode out the storm in the basement of the business - they were there putting cars under shelter to protect them from hail when the tornado swept through town.

"The weather man said the tornado was 12 miles away and then 10, eight, six, and when he said 'four,' my husband said, 'We're going to the basement,' " Shank recalled. "That was the first time we'd ever gone to the basement for a tornado."

The business was leveled, but within three days Esther Shank was selling cars out of an open field near the airport. She had a picnic table and no electricity, but that was enough for her to get some work done.

"Sometimes it seems like the tornado never happened," Shank said. "I didn't spend any time dwelling on it, and I think that is why."

Shank acknowledges, smiling, that most people notice her always-busy demeanor.

"People have asked if I ever sit down," Shank said. "I don't spend much time doing that. But when the dinner dishes are done, I like to sit down and crochet.

"It's my relaxation. I don't read books, I skim the paper and I'll look at the pictures in a magazine. Then I crochet."

Shank crochets doilies of all shapes, patterns and sizes. She uses mostly white and ecru yarn, but has created at least one doily with red and green yarn - to be given to a lucky resident who moves into his or her new home near Christmas.

She's been making doilies for more than 60 years. She started when she was 12, taught by her creative mother, Elsie Nachtigal.

Nachtigal passed on her affinity for crafting to her four daughters - Esther, Mary and Ruth, who were named for Bible characters, and Dorothy, who was named for the "Wizard of Oz" character.

Mary does needlepoint and Ruth is a quilter, but Dorothy and Esther are the crochet queens. In fact, one of Dorothy's most complicated pieces is in Shank's dining room.

"She had a lot of trouble and would call me and we'd figure out the difficult parts together," Shank recalled. "She gave it to me because she knew I'd appreciate it."

Recovering downtime

For three or four months after the tornado, Shank didn't crochet - partly because she was busy with the dealership, which had its grand reopening 18 months to the day that the sun rose over Greensburg and found it no longer there.

And partly because most of her supplies and the magazines containing the patterns had blown away in the storm. A few completed doilies, which Shank had stored under the bed between two sheets of cardboard, did make it.

She can't get over that, she says, smiling. Her home of 35 years at 221 W. Lincoln was blown away, and several Kansas State Fair prize-winning doilies she'd kept for herself went with it. But the doilies beneath the bed - made to be given away - survived.

The Shanks spent many months living in FEMAville and then in October moved into a ranch-style home on the eastern edge of town that had survived the tornado.

"It has all new siding and windows and a new roof," Shank said. "It's really kind of my dream house because it has a fish pond and a garden - and I've always wanted that."

Three weeks after the Shanks moved in, the house began to become their home.

An airplane made of string created by the Shanks' daughter Judy while she was in high school is displayed proudly in the den, along with a needlepoint picture Esther's sister Mary made.

In a second bedroom is a counted cross-stitch piece the Shanks' daughter Jeannette created for their 50th anniversary in 2000. All the pieces survived the storm - but were badly damaged. Not wanting to leave the handmade treasures behind, Shank had them restored.

Once Shank rebuilt her crocheting supplies, she got back to crocheting - especially while watching University of Kansas athletic events on television.

She has built up a collection of pieces, and continues to add to it. Homes are being dedicated left and right, and she needs to have an arsenal ready.

It's a lot of work, but, again, that's nothing new to Shank. Plus, the reward is worth it, she says.

"I enjoy giving them away," she said. "I've given away hundreds in my lifetime. It's surprising how people enjoy them. I've received lots of thank-you notes.

"And it's always fun to go to someone's house and see one of my doilies on their table."